Bogormen

Title: Aldrig mere fri (Never Again Free) Author: Sara Blædel Genre: Suspense Rating: 8/10 # pages: 374 Date read: July 2008, march 2021

In inner Copenhagen a woman is found murdered one night. The scene of the crime is very bloody, as her throat was cut in an uncommonly violent fashion.

Police officer Louise Rick has been put on the case together with some colleagues when she receives a phonecall from her friend Camilla Lind who's the crime reporter on Morgenavisen. She is deeply disturbed by an experience her 11-year-old son had the same morning when he on his way to school found an abandoned infant.

All clues in the murder case point towards the hooker environment of Copenhagen, but when another beastly murder is committed it's clear that new players are a field - players who ruthlessly abuse and punish others if it'd help their own lucrative business.


Slow to start, but it quickly picks up and becomes very interesting. It touches upon one of the most despicable crimes: human trafficking. It's something I feel very strongly against and therefore had a hard time stomaching the book, which also ended up being somewhat more violent than many of the earlier ones.

It ends rather abruptly and with an unexpected twist, but unlike some of her other books the abruptness doesn't mean any threads are left hanging... or rather they are, but not in an unsatisfying way, but rather because it couldn't be any different.

Title: Let Me Call You Sweetheart Author: Mary Higgins Clark Genre: Suspense Rating: 7/10 # pages: 268 Date read: July, 2008

Summary: Kerry McGrath had only begun to work in the county prosecutor's office at the time of the infamous "Sweetheart Murder Case" -- the bizarre slaying years ago of strikingly beautiful Suzanne Reardon. Now, ten years later, Kerry has gained a reputation as a smart and relentless prosecutor -- so much so that her name has been given to the governor as a candidate for a new judgeship -- and her new life and career are in full swing.

But Kerry's plans are turned upside down when her daughter Robin is injured in a car accident, requiring treatment from a well-known plastic surgeon. It is in his office that Kerry first encounters a beautiful face she remembers from her past but can't quite place -- until she realizes that this angelic face is a troubling link to the "Sweetheart" case. When she starts asking questions, she soon discovers that everyone involved wants the case to remain closed...and will stop at nothing to keep it that way.

Review: So far I've enjoyed all the books I've read by Mary Higgins Clark and fortunately this was no exception. I was somewhat disappointed by the ending though. Ms. Clark had set up a very elaborate and well-thought out plot but then, 15 pages from the end suddenly threw a completely unsuspected and unnecessary twist at the reader. There was no need for that twist and thus it came out as both superfluous and unbelievable. A shame, as the rest of the book had been so promising.

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Title: Ballet Shoes Author: Noel Streatfeild Genre: Childrens Rating: 7/10 # pages: 281 Date read: July, 2008

Summary: Pauline, Petrova and Posy are found as orphaned babies in different parts of the world by eccentric fossil collector and explorer Gum. He adopts them, takes them to his London home and leaves them in the care of his niece Sylvia and the family Nurse. Then off he goes to continue his exploring, saying that he'll be back in five years' time. When the three little girls are old enough, they choose the surname Fossil for themselves and vow to make the name famous. At first they lead privileged and sheltered lives. But when Gum fails to return after five years, Sylvia's money begins to run out. First she is forced to take in some boarders - an engaging and eclectic mix of characters - but then she decides that the girls should go to acting school. This way they will be able to earn some money before they grow up. Pauline adores the school, as she dreams of becoming an actress. Petrova hates it, all she wants to do is learn about cars and planes and engines. Posy loves it too - she is born to be a dancer and the school is the perfect place for her.

Review: It's always a risky thing, reading a book that you're too old for and that you didn't grow up with. Nostalgia hides many faults, and reading aloud makes any book charming that's enjoyed by the person read to, but not many children's books stand the test of being read by an adult, to an adult.

I'd say "Ballet Shoes" passed that test though. It's definitely the best Streatfeild book I've read so far, and while it's not a book I expect to reread myself, I'll definitely keep it for any girls I may have of my own. In style it reminds me of some of Mum's old books from when she was a child, that I read when I was younger (and still occasionally enjoy).

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Title: Den serbiske dansker (The Serbian Dane) Author: Leif Davidsen Genre: Suspense Rating: 7/10 # pages: 244 Date read: July, 2008

Summary: Iranian imams have promised a reward of 4 million American dollars to whoever executes their fatwa, death warrent on the author Sandra Santanda. The Russian mafia want that money and hire the Danish-Serbian hitman Vuk to commit the murder when Santanda visits Copenhagen.
It is now up to crime detective Per Toftlund to prevent the catastrophy.

Review: I've long wanted to read more Danish novels, and Leif Davidsen is one of the bigger names in later years, so I thought he was an obvious place to start. I rather like his writing style, but thought the book was a bit slow starting - possibly because he spent quite awhile introducing the different characters. Something he did really well as they all worked, and especially Vuk was very intriguing, so I may just have to read some of the other works featuring him.

I wish I knew more about the Yugoslavian civil war though. It shames me that I know so little about something so close, something so recent and something so major.

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Title: The Millionaire's Proposal Author: Trish Wylie Genre: Romance Rating: 8/10 # pages: 256 Date read: July, 2008

Summary:

Review: I'd somehow missed the fact that The Millionaire's Proposal was a Harlequin's Romance, and as I unpacked the book found myself groaning inwardly. Yes, I was prejudiced and wasn't expecting much. Imagine then my surprise when I found myself totally blown away by the book - not only enjoying it, but actually giggling and sighing along as I read! Harlequin Romances have come a long way since I was first introduced to them 15 years ago!

Kerry Doyle is on the trip of a life-time - a trip around the world! Only... how great is it to travel all alone? She quickly realizes that joys are better shared, and that no matter how wonderful the experiences she has, they will be just a bit bland, a bit empty, when experienced all alone. Fortunately for her Ronan O'Keefe, globe trotter extraordinaire, offers his services as he promises to take her on a privately guided tour of the world, on the condition that he is allowed to use her experiences for the next guide book he is writing. Sounds like a win-win situation, right? Kerry throws caution to the wind and decides to follow this handsome stranger, trusting her female intuition to guide her through.

What she hadn't counted on was being swept off her feet by his charms and falling head-over-heels in love with him. Nor that he'd fall for her as well. But they each have a secret burden to bear; do they dare trust each other with it and give their whirl-wind relationship a chance?

Trish Wylie provides her readers with romance when it's best. No bare-chested heroes, no busty damsels in distress who has to be rescued from a villainous monster, but simply a man and a woman who happen to meet up at the right time at the right place. They're real people, whom you and I can identify with without problems. Combining this with Trish' fantasy-inducing descriptions of the exotic places Ronan and Kerry visit and you end up with a novel that has the reader sighing to go explore the world for herself.

The Millionaire's Proposal is the perfect book to disappear into on a rainy afternoon and just escape the hum-drumness of everyday life for awhile.

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Title: Prince Caspian Author: C.S. Lewis Genre: Fantasy, YA Rating: 9/10 # pages: 208 Date read: July 2008, September 2018

Summary: A prince fights for his crown. Narnia... where animals talk... where trees walk... here a battle is about to begin. A prince denied his rightful throne gathers an army in a desperate attempt to rid his land of a false king. But in the end, it is a battle of honor between two men alone that will decide the fate of an entire world.

Review: After watching the movie, I wanted to reread the book, to see how much the adaption actually deviated from the book, and was left with the very unsettling sensation that the book for once wasn't as good as I remembered it. I found myself skimming a lot near the end, with the feeling that I was more 'comparing notes' than reading the book for its own sake. So now I know for another time that reading the book the very day after having watched the movie based on it, is not my best idea ever ;)

Title: The Alpine Path Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery Genre: Biography Rating: 6/10 # pages: 96 Date read: July, 2008

Summary: Lucy Maude Montgomery, the creator of Anne of Green Gables, wrote this charming autobiographical memoir in mid-career. It originally appeared as a series of magazine articles, and is the most complete account Montgomery published of her childhood and early years as a writer. Montgomery was determined to become a writer, and she never wavered in her resolve. She was practical, hardworking, and a thorough professional, proud of her accomplishments.

Review: L.M. Montgomery is an excellent writer, one of the few who's able to make both fiction and non-fiction interesting, and I would probably have rated this a lot higher, if it wasn't for the fact that I've read all her journals more than once, and therefore got absolutely nothing new out of this book. I hadn't realized it was more or less just a direct copy of select entries. So good enough for what it is, but unnecessary reading for anybody who's read the first two journals and/or "The LMM Album".

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Title: The Amateur Marriage Author: Anne Tyler Genre: Fiction Rating: 5/10 # pages: 306 Date read: July, 2008

Summary: Michael is a good boy from a Polish neighborhood in Baltimore; Pauline is a harum-scarum, bright-cheeked girl who blows into Michael's family's grocery store at the outset of World War II. She appears with a bloodied brow, supported by a gaggle of girlfriends. Michael patches her up, and neither of them are ever the same. Well, not the same as they were before, but pretty much the same as everyone else. After the war, they live over the shop with Michael's mother till they've saved enough to move to the suburbs. There they remain with their three children, until the onset of the sixties, when their eldest daughter runs away to San Francisco. Their marriage survives for a while, finally crumbling in the seventies.

Review: I read and loved Digging to America last year and therefore expected to enjoy this one just as much, or at least see the same charming characteristics of it. Instead I found it to be an extremely depressing book where one bad thing after the other seemed to happen to the main couple and they never had any kind of respite. It was very well written to be sure, but just left me in a blue funk. This is one of those that goes straight back on bookmooch.

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